Recently, while describing the current series of seven squares between Uranus and Pluto, I'd been feeling a bit vulnerable to criticism from astronomers. I'm keenly conscious that 'experts' say Pluto doesn't deserve the status it was once afforded. Yet astrologers know it to be very important. We work with it all the time because it reliably tells us so much. Latest findings from the Hubble telescope now confirm that Pluto has no fewers than five moons! That's an impressive satellite community for an object that got demoted by astronomers for being 'too small to count as a proper planet'.

A series of seven 'squares' between Uranus and Pluto came to its first peak last month. There will be six more between now and 2015. So I suppose that gives me 30 months or so to slowly explain what they represent! This week, I intend to tackle the meaning of a 'square'. Like any special angle formed in the zodiac, it signifies the way in which two particular planets are interacting with each other. Harmonious angles (trines, sextiles and usually conjunctions) imply agreement between these difference forces. Challenging angles (largely squares and oppositions) imply provocation and intervention. More tomorrow.

Today, in an attempt to explain what a 'square' means in astrology, I'd like you to imagine you are asleep in bed. If someone comes in, hands you a cup of tea and whispers gently, that's like the impact of a trine (angle of 120 degrees) or a sextile (60 degrees). In such harmonious alignments one planet says to another, 'Hey, do get up and join me; we've got something useful to do together today.' If they shout and whip off the bedclothes, that's more like the challenging awakening of a 90-degree square or a 180-degree opposition.

Tradition requires astrologers to interpret a 'square' between two planets as a suggestion that the planets in question are likely to antagonise one another so that each brings out the other's most anti-social characteristics. The current square between Uranus and Pluto is making Uranus (planet of sudden change) more inclined to fits of spontaneous, ill-thought-through rebellion while Pluto (planet of hidden power and secret fear) more likely to see conspiracies that need to be avenged. Both planets chiefly affect the public mood. We can expect a growing collective hunger for major change in the coming months.

I recently found myself teaching a little history to my 11-year-old daughter. I explained that, not so long ago, women were not allowed to vote. The law didn't even treat them as 'proper people'. If they were married, they belonged to their husbands. And girls were rarely educated. It was considered a waste of time to teach them. As she responded with amazement, it dawned on me that the current cosmic climate has the power to bring about another sea change in people's attitudes. An age of even greater enlightenment for humanity may be about to dawn.

Shortly after sunset now, we can see Mars edging slowly towards Saturn. Their conjunction doesn't happen till mid-August but when we see planets 'getting ready for a meeting' we get a sense of what they intend to discuss. Mars represents forces that need to energise, awaken and drive things forward. Saturn stands for tradition, protocol and the urge to resist change. This might mean conflict is coming but both planets are in Libra, the sign of agreement. In all our lives, where there's a desire for workable compromises, there's a suggestion that these could be on the horizon.

Linked from this page every Sunday, you will find the Sunday Love Forecasts. These are not 'week ahead predictions' in the usual sense. Those appear here every Saturday - and can be found, now, from the menu to the left. Week ahead forecasts cover all aspects of your week... including, when relevant, your love life. Love forecasts are only about love! If you're not interested in love at the moment, if you are interested but not unhappy or in need of something, if all your relationships are comfortable and rewarding... there may not be much for you here. But remember, 'Love' doesn't just cover romance. A love forecast may also have something to say about your family life!